Luggage carrier for automobiles



nLon J. VAN FLEET, or JoLInr, rLLINors, AssIeNoR To WILLIAM n. PRATT, or

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LUGGAGE CARRIER .FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Application inea April 1o, i922. serial no. 550,988.

To all whom/1f may concern:

Be it known that I, ELoN J. VAN FLEET,

Y a citizen of the United States, residing at V tion applied to the running board of anY Joliet, .in the vcounty of Will and State of illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Luggage Carriers for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in luggage carriers for automobiles and its purpose is to provide an improved device adapted to be attached to the running board to form an enclosure in which suit cases and other articles may be placed. An important object of the invention is to provide a luggage carrier embodying improved means for attaching it to the running board. A. further object is to provide a device embodying gripping jaws which may be caused to engage the running board by operating mechanism located above the running board. Still another object is to provide an improved construction which may be easily and conveniently folded into compact form when not in use. Other objects relate to various features of constructionand arrangement which will appear more ,fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be under-l stood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which one embodiment is illustrated. In the drawautomobile Fig. 2 shows a transverse vertical section through the running board and the gripping jaws Vat one end of the carrier, illustrating the end wall of the device in elevation Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section through the gripping jaws which are attached to an intermediate part of the side wall of the carrier; Y

Fig. 4f is a detail sectional view on the line 4:-4 of Fig. 1. v

Fig. V5 shows atop plan view of one of the lower jaw members;

Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 shows a top planv view of one of the upper jaw members; and Fig. 8 Shows a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

As illustrated, the invention is shown apintermediate points byvrivets 16 and at their p ends by rivets 17, the bars being spaced apart at. the intermediate pivotal points by washers 16a, to reduce the friction. The extremities of the bars 15 at the ends of the side walls 14 are pivoted at points 18 to the projecting ears 19V carried` bysleeves 20l which are mounted on and rotatably engaged by verticalrods or posts 21.V The lower end of each rod 2llrotatably. engages the hub 22a of an upper jaw member 22 which is adapted to overlie the up'- per surface of the running board '12, being provided with a shoulder 22? adjacent the hub 222L to abut against the side of the running b'oard. The lower extremity of `each rod 21 threadedly engages a lower jaw meinber 23 which projects inwardly and is provided with an upturned extremity 23a adapted to engage the under side of the running board, the contacting surface of this extremity preferably being serrated. `The outer'- end "of each lower jaw 23 is provided with an upwardly projectingv tongueV 23h. which is adapted to engage the slot or recess 22c formed between vthe lugs 22d whichare carried by the hub Iof the adjacent upper jaw inember22. Each rod 21 provided above the jaw members with an enlargedI part 24 which has a square or other noncircular contour, adapted to beengaged by a wrench so that the rods 21 may be conveniently rotated to adjust the relative positions of the upper and lower jaw members 22 and 23 respectively. It will be apparent that upon rotating the Arods 21 inthe properl direetion,'the upper andv lower jaw members will be caused to grip therunningboard and thereby secure thev device firmly in position. The tongues y23b which interlock with the lugs 22d on the upper jaw members pre-` vent relativerotation of the jaws of. each pair when the rods 21 are rotated; yand the use of an upturned yserrated extremity .23a

vso Y on each lower j aw, located some distance inare operated by the vertical rods 2l, it may be desirable in some instances to use an intermediate set of jaws which are sim- Iilar in construction to those located at the ends of the device except that th-ey are operated by a short threaded rod 26 having a squared upper extremity 26?L adapted to be engaged by a wrench. This rod is provided with a collar 2Gb beneath the part 26a, and a clip 27 is adapted to be engaged by the rod between this collar and the upper jaw member. This clip has an-upturned Hangs which is connected to one of the pivots 17 of the lazy tongs which form the side wall. VIn this way an intermediate support is provided for a luggage carrier of considerable length.

lin the embodiment shown the device is provided with one end wall 28 comprising two transverse frame members 29 connected to two vertical trame members 30 and 31. The transverse members 29 are connected to or :formed integrally with sleeves 32 which are rotatably engaged by one of the rods 21. The sleeve 32 carried by the lower member 29 may preferably lie immediately above the part 24- of the rod which is adapted to be engaged by a wrench. To maintain the end wall 28 in a `position at right angles to the side wall i4, the vertical trame member 3l is extended downwardly and connected at the point 33 to the inner extremity oiC the upper jaw member 2.2.` It desired, an end wall 28 may be employed at each end of the luggage carrier, but where the d-evice is as.- sembled in proximity to one or the tenders 13, as shown in Fig. l, only one end wall is necessary to form a complete enclosure.

rlfhe invention has the advantage that there are no projecting lugs or screws beneath the ruiming board to be bent. or put out of operation by objects encountered during the travel of the automobile. The jaws by which the device is secured to the ruiming board are operated from a position above the ruiming board and the rods 2l which operate these jaws may be conveniently rotated by wrench or the like. The well-known lazy tongs construction permits the extension of the side wall to any desired length and also permits the folding of the Vdevice into a compact arrangement when it is not in use. ldlhen thus ioided, the jaws 22 and 23 may be rotated about their operating rods until they lie in the plane of the folded side wall 14, and the end wall 28 may be brought into a position parallel with this side wall. A further feature of the device is that there are no projecting screws or pins to engage and injure the articles which are placed within the enclosure on the running board.

Although one embodiment oi` the invention has been shown and described for purposes of illustration7 it will be understood that it may be constructed in various other torms without departing from the scope ot the appended claims.

i claim:

i. A luggage carrier comprising a side wall, a rod engaging said side wall, and a pair of jaws operated by said rod.

2. A luggage carrier comprising a side wall, a rod connected to said side wall7 a jaw rotatably engaged by said rod, and a second jaw threadedly engaged by said rod.

3. luggage carrier comprising a side wall, a rod connected to said side wall, a j aw rotatably engaged by said rod, a second jaw threadedly engaged by said rod, and means for preventing relative rotation of said jaws. el. A luggage carrier comprising a side wall, a rod connected to said side wall, a pair ot jaws connected for operation by said rod, and an end wall connected to said rod.

5. fi luggage carrier comprising a side wall, a rod connected to said side wall, a pair oit jaws connected for operation by said rod, and an end wall carried by said rod and one oiPw said jaws.

6. A luggage carrier comprising an extensible side wall rods rotatably engaging the ends oi"- said wall, upper jaw members rotatably engaged by said rods, lower jaw members threadedly engaged by said rods. and means for operating said rods at points above said jaw members.

A luggage carrier comprising a side wall, a vertical rod, sleeves mounted on said rod and connected to said side wall, an upper aw member rotatably engaged by said rod and adapted to coact with the upper surface and lateral edge of a running board. a

4lower jaw member threadedly engaged by the lower ext nemity of said rod and adapted to grip the under side of said ruiming board, and means tor preventing relative rotation oi' said upper and lower jaw members.

8. A luggage carrier comprising a side wall, a vertical rod, sleeves mounted on said rod and connected to said side wall, an upper jaw member rotatably engaged by said rod and adapted to coact with the upper surface and lateral edge of a ruiming board, a lower jaw member thre'adedly engaged by the lower extremity of said rod and adapted to grip the under side of said ruiming board. one of said jaw members-having a pair ot lugs projecting tliereifrorm the other aw member having a tong-ue adapted to extend between said lugs to prevent relative rotation of said jaw members.

ELON J. VAN FLEET. 

